Connections

The storm was really starting to make some noise now and the wind had picked up a great deal in the last hour. From his spot on the roof he was only mildly exposed to the gusts yet the feeling of excitement the storm brought with it swept through Ron.

I guess I have always loved storms.

He had known about this protected spot on the roof since third year when he had followed some older students out here one day and it became one of his favorite spots on the grounds. It was a great place to think and it was also a nice spot to come with a couple of friends. At night you had a great view of the clear country sky. When you sat and looked at the glory of the cosmos unfolded in the night sky you got a sense of how little you were in the grand scheme of the universe. This always made Ron relax and helped to lessen the pressures he felt.

As he sat their quietly the door opened from the inside and Harry came out onto the roof. He handed Ron a bottle of butterbeer and sat down.

"Enjoy the drink, it's the last of our supply." Harry said opening his.

"Well the holidays are almost here and we can get some more then. I need to go to Diagon Alley before Christmas anyway."

"You think we can get permission?" Harry questioned.

'Well to be honest Harry I wasn't planning on asking, I'm just going to go. I have to Floo back and forth to the castle to take care of stuff during the holidays so I should be able to get away. You want to meet me there?"

"You bet I do mate. I take it we won't be telling Hermione about this?"

"You bloody well better not tell her" Ron said laughing "She would worry the whole time about us breaking the rules. Not to mention if she asked me not to go I wouldn't and I need to get her a present."

They both sat silently for a few minutes then Harry looked at Ron "You really do love her don't you?"

"Yeah mate I do, I know it's hard for you to understand because she's the same Hermione who's been our best mate since first year but I am mental about her."

"Well I am happy for both of you and at least now when you two fight it's not quite so bad."

Ron just smiled at him. "So how are things with Ginny going?"

"Pretty good mate, finding my self going out with my best friend's sister was a little nerve wracking at first but it just keeps on getting better."

"Are you getting serious with my little sister?"

"Well yes and no, we are getting more serious but not like you and Hermione are."

"Yeah it's scary sometimes how close we have gotten but I wouldn't give it up for anything."

Ron took another drink of his butterbeer "You know mate we haven't had as much time together this year as we have had beforeand I've missed it."

Harry looked a bit sheepish "Me too mate."

"Well I've been thinking about it and while we both want alone time with our girlfriends we just need to start thinking of ourselves as foursome instead of a trio."

"So you still refer to Hermione as your girlfriend?"

"Of course, what else would I call her?"

"How about your bride to be?" Harry smirked.

"You might be rushing things there a bit Harry."

"Are you saying you don't think about it?"

"Well of course I have but it's in the future if we even have one."

Harry looked at Ron sharply "You don't think we are going to win?"

"Of course we are going to win Harry but how many of us are going to die winning?"

"We'll just have to take care of each other Ron."

"Yeah I guess so, Harry if something should happen to me I need you to look after Hermione and Ginny for me."

"Nothing is going to happen to you mate except that you are going to become an even bigger hero when we defeat Voldemort."

"I have been thinking about what I want to do after we kill him. I used to think I wanted to be an Auror but now I'm not so sure."

"Well what else have you been thinking about doing if you don't become an Auror?"

"Well I was thinking about opening a second hand broom store in Hogsmeade. I have the money Sirius left me and I think he would like the idea of selling brooms to people who don't have the money to buy a new one. Plus Hermione is bound to end up teaching here at Hogwarts at some point isn't she?"

Harry's smile seemed to split his face "Well I'm sure Sirius would love the store idea and you do know your brooms. Though I did notice you were basing what you end up doing on where Hermione end's up."

Ron just laughed "Yeah well I believe it was a certain best friend of mine who first told me I had it bad for her."

While they were still laughing the door opened for the inside and Ginny stuck her head out. "We thought you guys might be out here."

"We?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah me and Hermione" Ginny answered as she crawled outside followed by Hermione.

Ron yawned "Sorry I haven't been sleeping well the past few night though I think that's going to change."

"Why do you think that?" Ginny replied.

Ron looked right into Hermione's eyes and laughed "Let's just say my guardian angel has been looking out for me."

Hermione smiled at him and leaned over whispering into his ear. 'You know you never did see my Halloween costume."

Ron eyes got bigger and Hermione could feel his heart start to beat faster as she sat lying against him.

"You shouldn't tease me like that Mione."

"If you insist" she smiled "but I do love it so"

His voice dropped even lower "Hermione did you know I was having trouble sleeping last night somehow?"

She nodded and showed him the necklace he had given her.

A knowing look was quickly followed by a painful expression and then a faint blush.

"So you saw the horrible things I started thinking about?" he asked not looking at her.

She put her hand on the side of his face and turned him back to look at her. "Yes I did and I want you to know we are all going to do our best to make sure those things don't happen but it's not your responsibility to keep everyone safe."

Then she gave him a very warm smile that seemed to have a profound effect on him physically "Besides not all the things you were thinking about last night were bad. Some of them were quite enticing."

"Hermione are you tying to kill me?" he nervously replied, his heart racing as he looked over to make sure Harry and Ginny couldn't hear her. Luckily they were whispering to each other and not paying him and Hermione any attention.

She slowly leaned in and pressed her chest against his, softly murmuring into his ear. " No my love I was merely giving you a glimpse of what you have to look forward to."